MONTREAL - I'm at Joe Beef on a crowded Friday night, and the place is humming. On my right are two young blondes nibbling plates of spaghetti with lobster. To my left is a couple feasting on hot clams casino and fresh Portage Island, Malpeque and Marina Gem oysters. An hour later, the blondes' table is taken over by a young woman shyly celebrating a birthday, and the stylish francophone couple on my left are replaced by a very English couple. It's past 9, so they settle on the lighter fare: an arugula salad with mimolette cheese for the lady with the pageboy, and a dozen oysters for the gentleman with the preppy glasses. Clearly an oyster aficionado, Mr. Manners knows a good mollusk when he sees one. Sitting close enough to touch my elbow, he turns to me and says, "I've been to some big-name restaurants, but none of them serves oysters like this."

A meal at Joe Beef is less an uptight fine-dining experience than a night at one heck of a dinner party. Not once have I dined here without chit-chatting with everyone around me. While a few elegant ladies across the room isolated in a banquette look longingly across to our corner, our side of the room is talking food, swapping restaurant stories and enjoying more than a few giggles with our new friends. And because we're all Montrealers, it turns out we have plenty to gab about.

Your host for this soiree is none other than Montreal's most personable chef, David McMillan, who co-owns the restaurant with two of his good friends, chef Frederic Morin and front-of-the-house manager Allison Cunningham. While McMillan moves from table to table making menu suggestions, slipping the foie gras eaters a complimentary glass of Sauternes, or explaining the montage of Peter Hoffer paintings on the east wall, Morin turns out some lovely cuisine bourgeoise, and Cunningham quietly keeps the whole scene under control. Open only two months, Joe Beef has already generated a buzz that would be the envy of any restaurateur.

And just how did this trio get the party started? In opening Joe Beef, their goal was simple: to rediscover their love of the restaurant business.

After a decade cooking at branche restos Globe and Rosalie, McMillan and Morin had had their fill. Ready to kiss the restaurant life goodbye, they decided instead to take over their hangout, a little cafe on Notre Dame St. just across from the Corona Theatre. But if they were to delve back into the scene, there would be strict rules. The restaurant would have to be small, and would only be open for dinner five days a week. McMillan and Morin would cook only what they wanted and the menu would change daily. The wine list would be small but interesting, and well priced.

Next, this thoroughly modern threesome looked to the past for inspiration.

First came the restaurant's name. Though one may assume Joe Beef is a steakhouse, the name is in fact that of Charles McKiernan, a legendary 19th-century Montreal innkeeper and working-class hero who offered food and shelter at his Old Montreal tavern (the building still stands at the corner of de la Commune and de Calliere Sts.). Stragglers, longshoremen, beggars and outcasts were admitted to Joe Beef's Canteen in exchange for a bit of light labour. On the back of the restaurant's business card, there's a brief history of the do-gooder as well as these words: "Joe Beef was a man of the people. With our restaurant, we pay homage."

The second glance backward is the menu. Oysters were a staple in Mc-

Kiernan's day and are a favourite of both chefs. From the beginning, an oyster bar was incorporated into their plan. Manned by North American oyster-shucking champion John Bil, Joe Beef's oyster bar now sells a good 4,000 east- and west-coast oysters weekly imported directly for the restaurant. Looking around the room, you'll see several diners savouring a dozen magnificent oysters served with mignonette or cocktail sauce.

Oysters aside, the nightly specials (spelled out on a blackboard in the middle of the room) often feature the kind of French fare popular during Expo 67 rather than the Quebecois nouvelle cuisine of the past decade. Sometimes there's pot-au-feu, cote de boeuf Bearnaise, and Dover sole meuniere. But sometimes it's more comfort food. Cream of chicken soup with rice, cream of onion soup with cheese croquettes, and Salisbury steak are very Sunday dinner (but my mom wasn't topping the Salisbury steak with foie gras slivers and onion rings).

Though this food is far from flashy, I can't think of much I tasted here that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. The thick slice of hot or cold foie gras served with toasted pain rustique is highly recommended. Just when you're ready to take a bite, McMillan will come over with homemade jam for you to spread between bread and liver.

Another winner is the rabbit ballotine, a deconstructed rabbit salad with tender chunks of meat and a zesty vinaigrette. Shellfish are another must at Joe Beef, especially with dishes like giant prawns doused in garlic butter, the meal-size bowl of clam chowder heaped with seafood, the velvety west-coast mussels topped with diced potato, clam juice and cream, or the aforementioned clams casino gratineed with bacon and cheese.

By main-course time the crowds pick up and the serious food starts peeling out of the kitchen.

Garnished with chopped parsley and capers, the Dover sole meuniere is light and delicate. My only quibble here is that the sauce isn't buttery enough. Yet I have no complaints about the cream chicken. Served in a casserole at the table, the chicken meat is bathed in cream and garnished with tiny white onions. I'm told that dish sometimes is enhanced with lobster. But I would save the lobster experience for the lobster spaghetti, which features several large chunks of the beast set atop a simple pasta with a light cream sauce and minced parsley.

If you're up for something a bit more austere, there's usually a delicious dry-aged rib steak, or roasted organic salmon with a mustard-honey glaze. Topped with a thick slice of bacon and paired with a bowl of fried Cortez Island oysters, this thick salmon fillet would easily serve two.

After all this, do you really need dessert? Well, yes and no. You could simply opt for a cheese plate, as McMillan is sure to offer some interesting vino to go with it. But if you insist on a sweet, try the simple cherry and chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream or the pucker-inducing grapefruit topped with toasted sabayon. Desserts here are underplayed, but after a foie gras, cream chicken and lobster, you'll understand why.

My one beef with Joe Beef is that it's too small. Now that the word is out, chances are you won't nab a reservation anytime soon (even Anthony Bourdain, who dined here last week, had to reserve a week in advance). Yet when I asked McMillan if he would make the restaurant larger, he answered. "No way, 25 seats are all we want. If it gets out of hand, we'll close. We're just a little restaurant that sells oysters."

The cynic in me might have answered, "Yeah... sure." But I think he means it. Running a restaurant is a tough gig. Sounds like this group has found a way to make it enjoyable - as much for them as for us.

And Joe Beef would have approved. After all, that's why his legend is still with us a century later. Like these young restaurateurs, he did it his way.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.